1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to data processing systems, and in particular to the creation and utilization of databases.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Over the last ten to twenty years substantial investments have been made by governments and private entities in the creation and maintenance of databases which contain information pertaining to a particular entity or activity which is being monitored. For example, a wide variety of governmental entities have established and maintained databases which contain information pertaining to the arrest and conviction records of criminals. Yet other governmental databases maintain information pertaining to the driving histories of licensed drivers. Still other databases contain information pertaining to active and discharged military personnel. Still other databases contain information pertaining to the work histories of federal, state, and local governmental unit employees. Many professions exist which are substantially self-regulated, including the legal and medical professions, as well as the accounting and engineering professions, requiring the creation of massive databases.
Difficulties arise when governmental and/or private entities attempt to share information which is contained in their respective databases. Since substantial sums have been invested in the creation of the databases, it is impractical to start over and create a commonly-owned and commonly-maintained database. Therefore, most collaborative efforts result in some attempt to pass information contained in particular data fields from one entity to the other. Unfortunately, most databases have such a rigid construction that they do not easily accommodate additional data fields. Additionally, such conversion efforts typically cannot be performed without considerable problems and frequently require that the information contained in the data fields be reviewed by human operators to ensure that the data is sensible and accurate. This is labor intensive and correspondingly expensive.